Food for the supply chain soul
Taking a new direction, can we apply non-traditional disciplines, mixed media, and fresh ideas to create and nourish a supply chain worthy of our times?
I am unveiling a new quest to imagine the supply chain in a more perfect state, as a work of fiction, fantasy, or perhaps a multiplayer game. My goal is to kindle ideas for breakthrough innovations that are only made possible by seeing the supply chain not as it is but as it might be. As I do so, I aim to invent the newsletter of the future—something experiential and provocative, blending art, science, and technology to create or nurture an immersive environment that energizes minds, explores possibilities, and pushes us to move forward, always forward.
The stage is set
A very human conversation with Chef Fernando Trancoso, the visionary founder of Inefable in Colorado Springs, inspires today's edition. Additional inspirations flow from two conversations with guests on the Tetragrammaton podcast, hosted by Rick Rubin. The first guest is Merlin Sheldrake, biologist and author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our World. And the second is Chris Dixon, venture investor and author of Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet. All three conversations created a flood of ideas for me. I invite you to see what they do for you by listening here and here.
If you find yourself in Colorado Springs, please dine at Inefable! Then, share your experience with me. Or if you like, meet me there! (Click here for fun and here for directions.)
The supply chain is bigger than the Internet
According to Datareportal's Digital 2022: Global Overview Report, the Internet has penetrated not quite two-thirds of the world's population (62.5%, actually). That's impressive, but the supply chain, local and global, already serves each and every human on our planet, providing the things we need in order to live and work, and taking the fruits of our labor to market.
Think about it. The supply chain serves quietly, almost in the shadows, seldom making headlines. But in its best moments, the supply chain makes news as it helps us rise above world-shaking pandemics, life-shattering catastrophes, and stagnant or collapsing economies. The supply chain will fly us to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
The Internet is in the news every day as it powers artificial intelligence, reshaping our lives, creating exponential gains, moving fast and breaking things, but only dealing with social consequences when shamed, regulated, or otherwise held to account.
What gives? Something is amiss. Why is the supply chain not equally reported on, for good or for ill, when it is essential to our daily existence and plays a critical role in both progress and crises?
Like the Internet, the supply chain is a ubiquitous, all-encompassing network, an integrator of data streams and human endeavors, fostering communication channels to empower conversations and commerce everywhere, all the time. But we don't think of the supply chain that way. We count on the supply chain but accept it as a given without wonder. And so, we don't look for breakthrough innovations or opportunities to rebuild the supply chain as something fundamentally different and far better than before—an omnipresent, human-centered, technology-enabled platform worthy of our times.
Moving from facts to fiction, imagine this: supply chain innovators coming together to envision the future through an artist's lens, crafting a narrative to challenge pedestrian perceptions and provoke transformative thought to tell a story and make an impact. Such a work would not be a dry statement of customer needs, supply chain services, productivity, and profit-making potential. It would be a living frame to fire the imagination to pursue pioneering possibilities.
New ideas lead the way
Let's get started—putting aside what is established and entrenched so we can wonder what the supply chain might be:
Organic, like us. Imagine the supply chain as a people-serving network modeled on the Woodwide Web—fungi in the soil, interwoven with roots and mycelium threads, all working together, communicating with plants, to form the mycorrhizal network, transferring nutrients, elements, and all of the stuff that makes life possible.
A work catalyst. Social networks are fun, but do they help us get things done? Engineers define work as the multiplicative product of the strength of an applied force and the distance over which it moves something. What if the supply chain did that? What if it helped us all do life's work, providing energy and moving mountains?
A streamer of data, like music. Unlike movies and books, music stirs emotions without context or details. Listeners are left to figure out what it means for them, so every interaction with a song is intensely personal. Could the supply chain stream its data, in harmony with information from other sources, more to inspire than measure, offering data as notes, not metrics?
Devoid of segments. Segmentation is a process designed to achieve the industrial commoditization of people, stripping individuality and purpose to create minimally viable products in pursuit of scale and market share. What if the supply chain could see us as humans—as we are, living unique lives, striving to achieve aspirations?
Community-owned. Profits are crucial because achieving profitability means that the supply chain operates as a responsible steward of all that society provides—land, highways, workers, energy, investments, currency, and so on. Driven by profits, supply chain companies measure customer happiness by their purchases. What if customers had a real stake in building a supply chain worthy of their loyalty? What if they owned it?
The future, reimagined
Working with ChatGPT, I've channeled these ideas into a narrative of the kind used to establish the plot of a movie. Here's what we created, my AI coach and me:
In a future where humanity thrives on interconnectedness mirroring the natural symbiosis of the Woodwide Web, the global supply chain has evolved beyond mere logistics into an organic, people-serving network. Envision a world where this intricate system doesn't just deliver goods but energizes communities—like fungi in the soil—facilitating the transfer of resources, knowledge, and energy across a web of connected lives. This is a world where supply chains catalyze work and life, stream data like music touching the soul without the rigidity of numbers, and where the artificial barriers of market segmentation are dismantled. Here, every individual is seen not as a consumer but as a unique entity with personal aspirations, deeply integrated into a community-owned network. This radical transformation ensures that the supply chain isn't just a tool for profit but a foundational element in building sustainable communities, where every person has a stake and every interaction is a step toward a collective future.
How about that for a start? Let's create the supply chain of the future together, first in the fantasy realm that my newsletter strives to create and then in the real world, where we all live and work.
A way forward
Borrowing from the language of software developers, I am forking, creating a new project from an existing one by copying the source code. My source code is my passion for inspiring a supply chain worthy of our times. I can see my future and feel how to get there. But I need your help. I crave collaboration. I welcome your ideas, feedback, and introductions, and if you value my work, I ask for your funding.
I'll offer more on funding in future editions, but for now, as always, please leave your comments below or reach me at mark.dancer@n4bi.com.